Well, I think the little spat re the Iron Druid Chronicles on this board was way overblown. As a Christian, I had no issues whatsoever with Hearne's writing or characterization of the many dieties he talks about. (though my beliefs are rather...progressive) I certainly wouldn't characterize anything in the books as misinformation or disrespectful. That is unless you believe in the Norse pantheon. Or the Roman Pantheon. Or some of the other old 'pagan' religions. The books are simply good fun and the magic is in line with what you are looking for. And of course, they are fantasy books. I suggest giving the first book a shot - it is short and reads fast, so even if it doesn't work for you, it's not a big investment.

The old deities are my guides. I take their good name very seriously and do not take kindly to any slander against them. They are as serious to me as the Abrahamic God is to Christians, Muslims, and Jews. hence why the plot didn't sit well with me.

The old deities are my guides. I take their good name very seriously and do not take kindly to any slander against them. They are as serious to me as the Abrahamic God is to Christians, Muslims, and Jews. hence why the plot didn't sit well with me.

I'm no expert on such mythology, but in general, Hearne stays pretty true to things. Of course he does take a few liberties to bring them into the modern world. The big two issues are that Thor is an arrogant @E#$ in the books (though it doesn't really come into play until the 3rd book). He also has a little fun with Baccus in the third book, but not too much. Basically, some gods in various pantheons at one time or another want the main protag dead, and so they come off as the 'bad guys'.

. Furthermore, why do authors seem to ignore these often lost opportunities? One does not have to write a thesis on the matter so why?

My guess - judging from my reads and my own amateur writing - is most authors create speculative-other worlds, thus want new avenues or ideas for their own theories of magic that fit their made up environment. Earth's various occult beliefs are semi-common knowledge, so authors want to create their own unique experience; and our occult powers aren't thought of as fitting the "need power now" plots that many action based novels require to move forward quickly.

If you read any of the Dresden files, you'll find most powers are what you're looking for, but a few others may not be... though I think Butcher does a pretty good job of explaining how artifacts are created in order to give quick power to someone in a jam.

The old deities are my guides. I take their good name very seriously and do not take kindly to any slander against them. They are as serious to me as the Abrahamic God is to Christians, Muslims, and Jews. hence why the plot didn't sit well with me.

Well, that cuts out an awful lot of fantasy fiction, especially as the neo-pagan religions use an awful lot of deities. Don't read Hearne then, or Butcher. Cherryh's series would probably be okay, as well as Terri Windling's The Wood Wife. You might also like Elizabeth Bear's Promethean Age series, or find it horribly sacrilegious, I don't know. Another possibility is Emma Bull's War for the Oaks, and various works of Charles de Lint, which usually combine Amerindian mythology and Celtic material, including his Newford novels set in a modern Canadian city and his related Moonheart series. Some of his works are somewhat humorous and satiric, others more serious and some of them are horror. I'd suggest looking through them to see what sounds most interesting. Power's On Stranger Tides, that Randy suggested, does make use of the voodoo material, but that might not be of interest.

The reality, however, as tsxhusker mentions, is that fantasy authors use mythologies, folklore and occult lore as jumping off points, be it Judeo-Christian, pagan or other, often a mix as you know, shaping it and changing it to fit the needs of their story. And sometimes those stories are going to employ a good deal of humor about it. So if you're going to see any "inaccurate" portrayal as a blasphemy that you will therefore not enjoy, I would suggest switching over to science fiction most of the time. Or sticking to alternate world fantasies where they are making up something else. But try some of the suggestions and see if any of them work for you.

You may want to give Patrick Rothfuss a try. Not only is he a fantastic writer but his magic system is based on real world physics so it has a certain believability to it. I know exactly what you mean with the magic systems and I struggle with the same thing. The Name of the Wind and The Wise Mans fear may be right up your alley.

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I'm personally iffy on the Iron Druid Chronicles. I do not take lightly to authors spreading potential misinformation about or potentially insulting the name of a deity I hold sacred. The plot of the first book in this regard doesn't seem to rub me the right way.

While i'm not christian I do feel that hearne in kinda neared [okay half fallen off] the edge with his portrayels of modern religions.

That doesnt mean I can't ignore it and enjoy the story. but this is one of the few cases where I wouldnt advise you to do the same. there are limits.